ok... I have the old school vang... I moved the Jam Block to the top position so the jam is at the boom and not at the base of the mast. I've since been able to fully tighten the sucker down as opposed to it just hanging there...
Since then the boat has been, well, slower... Oddly, I also re-rigged the cummingham, and outhaul at the same time.
The laser is my first boat (for all intents and purposes), and I have no sailing experience beyond that...
Vang - the tighter it is, the less power the sail has because it lessens the "airfoil" shape of the sail by lengthening the luff... right? Wrong? Geez I cant believe someone would think that....
Cummingham- Can depower the sail by stiffening the leech, which prebends the mast. What physics are at work here that cause this de-powering?
Outhaul - Can de-power the sail by making the sail flatter. This controls the draft of the sail. The tighter you have your outhaul, the less pressure differential is created by airflow across the sail (shaped like a piedce of plywood vs a airplane wing.
How close am I to understanding this stuff?
Since then the boat has been, well, slower... Oddly, I also re-rigged the cummingham, and outhaul at the same time.
The laser is my first boat (for all intents and purposes), and I have no sailing experience beyond that...
Vang - the tighter it is, the less power the sail has because it lessens the "airfoil" shape of the sail by lengthening the luff... right? Wrong? Geez I cant believe someone would think that....
Cummingham- Can depower the sail by stiffening the leech, which prebends the mast. What physics are at work here that cause this de-powering?
Outhaul - Can de-power the sail by making the sail flatter. This controls the draft of the sail. The tighter you have your outhaul, the less pressure differential is created by airflow across the sail (shaped like a piedce of plywood vs a airplane wing.
How close am I to understanding this stuff?